Horse hooves trampled through the loess, leaving the chaos of Fenglingdu behind.
Zhang Wenjing looked back at the firelight and put her forehead against Li Xia's cheek.
Her ears felt hot, and she quickly turned around, thinking to herself: "We're engaged... we're engaged..."
Gradually, Li Xia slowed down his horse speed.
The night wind blowing in my face became much gentler, and I could still hear the roar of the Yellow River.
Four years later, I rode with him again across the vast land, but the scenes from back then were still clear...
"Your riding skills have improved a lot. You didn't know how to save horsepower before."
"I treated you too harshly before. Are you angry?"
"Hmph, I don't know who was captured by whom later. By the way, I did something a while ago and saved a little girl."
"I know, the daughter of the Zhang family in Yongning, Luoyang, I have met her." Li Xia said, "She likes you very much."
"Hmm? Like me?"
"When I mention you, I blush and say you are rich and handsome."
"Of course." Zhang Wenjing pointed to the other side of the Yellow River and said, "The situation at that time, she was sitting in a carriage, the Mongolian people wanted to kidnap her, and I came on horseback with a sword... Do you think it's familiar to you?"
"Um?"
Zhang Wenjing refused and put her head against Li Xia's chin.
"You really don't remember?"
"Remember." Li Xia asked, "So, Mrs. Zhang from Yongning fell in love with you because of this scene?"
"I won't talk to you anymore."
Although she was angry with Li Xia, Zhang Wenjing still felt happy.
She has many, many things she wants to say that have accumulated over the years, but she is no longer in a hurry. When she leaves here, she will still have plenty of time to talk slowly.
…
Finally, when they reached a gentle place on the river bank, Li Xia reined in the reins.
"This is it."
He first turned over and dismounted, raised his hand, and took Zhang Wenjing down.
"I can do it myself."
"Didn't I bring it up to you before?"
"Hey." She couldn't see her blush in the night, but she looked up and asked, "Where's the boat?"
"We'll be there in a minute." Li Xia stretched out his hand to straighten Zhang Wenjing's messy hair.
Zhang Wenjing let him take care of him honestly, turned around and ran away, going to the carriage to talk to Yuan Yan, not wanting to get close to Li Xia in front of others.
Li Xia smiled and looked around, feeling a little reluctant to leave the north bank of the Yellow River.
To be honest, these days are the most relaxing time of the year. There are not a lot of official duties. When I wake up every day, I just need to find ways to talk to girls.
After a while, a big ship sailed across the river and came towards us.
This place is called "the embankment". It is not a good ferry and we can only barely anchor.
If you get on the boat, you need to wade through some water.
Li Xia was just thinking about carrying Zhang Wenjing over when he heard Lin Zi shouting from the big boat: "Put down the boat to pick up someone."
Doing things too carefully...
~~
"This is a nice boat."
Li Xia got on the boat and settled Zhang Wenjing and others. After walking around, he stood at the bow of the boat and praised them.
Lin Zi was quite proud and patted the mast and said: "This is the largest ship in the entire Pujin Ferry."
"The rest were burned?"
"It was burned. I took Lian Xixian's letter and arranged for the civilians to load the oil and grease onto the boats, saying that I was going to rescue people. Then a fire started immediately. The ferry was so crowded that no one could put it out...
…I also arranged for eight good men to steal some military talismans and sneak into Jiezhou, hiding them for a while before delivering the news from Shanxi to the commander-in-chief."
"well done."
"Commander, do you want to go back now?"
"Wait a little longer and Lian Xixian...is here."
The sound of horse hooves could be heard from the west, and after a while, several knights appeared on the shore.
This was an agreement between Li Xia and Zhang Yanxiong to take advantage of the chaos to send Lian Xixian here. Considering that Zhang Yanxiong might kill someone and silence him, he asked Zhang Wenjing to send someone over to keep an eye on him, and arranged for two people to be among them.
…
Lian Xixian was no longer as high-spirited as when Tathagata came. He was dressed in mourning clothes, his hands were tied, and he slumped onto the boat, bowing his head and saying nothing.
Li Xia stepped forward and untied the rope from his body and asked, "Brother Shanfu, has a relative passed away?"
"Jia Ci...is gone."
"Condolences."
Li Xia was also surprised and comforted him, not knowing what to say.
He had seen the blood on the corner of Lian Xixian's mouth and knew that he had been vomiting blood from grief recently.
This actually disrupted Li Xia's plan.
After a long time, Lian Xixian spoke first, with a solemn tone and a sad expression.
"Feiyu sent me to the north bank of the Yellow River and then brought me back. He killed two birds with one stone... He not only picked up the girl from the Zhang family, but also ruined my plan for counterattack... You win."
"Yes, originally, there was another purpose, which was to make you feel disheartened by Kublai Khan."
Lian Xixian raised his head and asked: "How do you plan to recruit me?"
Li Xia asked, "Shall we say it now? It's better to wait until you calm down."
"Jia Ci left in July. It's been two months and I, the son, haven't gone back... Let's talk about the immediate things first."
Having said that, Yeom Xixian still looks like he is out of his mind.
"That's fine." Li Xia said, "Brother Shanfu should also see the shortcomings of the Mongolian system during this trip."
"system?"
Li Xia was already prepared to deal with Lian Xixian's eloquent words. Unexpectedly, the other party was in such a state at this time, and the atmosphere of the conversation became much lower.
But you have to say what you have prepared.
"Hu has no luck for a hundred years, and grassland regimes tend to 'rise and fall suddenly.' The characteristics of Mongolia are not much different from those of the Huns and Turks in the past. When fighting wars, they resorted to large-scale detours.
That’s all. Genghis Khan only twisted the Mongols into a tightrope, letting them discover that there was vast land outside the grasslands that could be conquered, and made the Mongols work together... This is the reason why Mongolia is so strong and so powerful.
But can such a regime last long? The unity united by the "desire to conquer" will collapse as quickly as thunder. The bloody storms between Mongolian clans are not new in recent years. Wo Kuo
After Tai's death, the Mongols' butcher's knives have begun to chop on the brothers' heads. Brother Shanfu knows this better than I do. I would like to ask, is the dispute between Kublai Khan and Alibaba the "battle between the Han system and the old system" that you keep talking about?
?Where is Kublai Khan’s royal aura?”
Li Xia pointed to the north bank of the Yellow River.
"Look at the land under Mongolian rule. Is there a long-lasting system of peace and stability? It's just a way for bandits to divide the spoils. The tens of millions of people are just looted loot. I came to take a walk, and it felt like I was in a deserted place.
It's not that I have the ability or that I don't need the ability. Here, there are only a bunch of gangsters and puppets who collect stolen goods from robbers. They only care about transporting money to their masters and preserving the little power they have.
How could such a dirty and pulpy system last so long? How could it be prosperous? How could it achieve the ambition that Brother Shanfu wanted to achieve? Xiao He was a swordsman and pen official in the Qin Dynasty. When the Han Dynasty flourished, he became the leader among ministers and was famous for his contributions to future generations. Not only because of his
His ability to govern the world is also due to the fact that he assisted Liu Bang."
Lian Xixian listened silently and said slowly: "I have always known that the Mongolian system is not flourishing. What we are doing is precisely to establish the unified system..."
"Even if Brother Shanfu really planned for the founding of the country by Kublai Khan, his country would not last long or prosper, and it would be completely contrary to Brother Shanfu's ambition. There is great resistance. You have seen it. There are few dynasties in history that have such achievements in just three generations.
There are many blood-sucking clan aristocrats, and for three generations they still have no plan for long-term peace and stability, and for three generations they only know how to kill... Its achievements have long been destined."
Lian Xixian said: "Your Majesty has the intention of restructuring, and Prince Zhenjin does too..."
"You said that the prerequisite for my success is that everything will go smoothly in the next ten or twenty years. How much pressure from the Mongolian clan will Kublai Khan and Zhenjin face? They are not as determined as me. You and them before
Conflicts between beliefs are inevitable.”
"Commander, why don't you talk about the kindness between Your Majesty and me?"
"You should know how much Kublai Khan trusts you." Li Xia said: "In the Guanlong battle, your success was a great achievement, and your failure was a great fault. This time when you are crossing north, you have taken refuge with me.
Now, I won’t talk about what he will do to you, you can think about it yourself.”
The conversation this time was much sluggish, but in fact Lian Xixian already had a tendency before he came...
He calculated the time and found that his mother's death probably coincided with the end of the Lintao War. The news that Wang Liangchen was ambushed had just spread back to the north. Yanjing covered up the news and hoped that he would continue to take charge of Guanlong.
After that, the news of retreating to Guanlong spread back, and Yanjing hoped that he could go back to Dingyou.
It was too decent, decent enough for him, and decent enough for the king. He had to suspect that there was something hidden in this matter.
This secret may not be true...but with suspicion, it is no longer possible for the monarch and his ministers to trust each other as before.
The fact that he surrendered to Li Xia has been confirmed by both human and material evidence. In addition, Ahema is in charge of Shanxi. If he falls into the hands of Ahema, he will be stigmatized and may even affect the lives of his whole family.
Ten years of kindness from the king and his ministers...
After sitting on the bow of the boat and thinking about this for a long time, Lian Xixian suddenly asked: "How much trust can I give to Commander Li?"
"What kind of trust does Brother Shanfu want?"
"I want to go back to Yanjing to pay my respects to Jiaci..."
Lian Xixian stopped mid-sentence.
He had not fully thought about whether to defect to Li Xia, but his tenacity had always made him unwilling to die unjustly at the hands of Ahema, and what he wanted to do most at this moment... was indeed to go back to attend the funeral.
"good."
Li Xia agreed directly and asked, "Do you need me to send someone to escort you?"
"No need, I have many old friends in the North who can help me."
"Can."
"Aren't Li Jieshuai worried that I'm going to escape back, clear my suspicions, and continue to be your enemy?"
Li Xia raised his finger and pointed to the river bank, saying: "Seeing Brother Shanfu in mourning clothes, I didn't give the order to sail... Go ahead, I believe Brother Shanfu will come back."
He didn't say anything more. It was almost impossible for Lian Xixian to gain Kublai Khan's trust again.
But if we really want to clear the suspicion, the best way is to pretend to surrender to him, Li Xia, and find an opportunity to take his head back... Lian Xixian did not do this, and he is known as "Lian Mencius".
Mencius Lian, this is exactly what Li Xia needs.
He doesn't need the prince who transports five households of silk to the Mongolian clan every year. Those who share the spoils want to surrender, but they can only be killed with a single sword.
Only those with similar aspirations are worthy of his recruitment and trust.
Lian Xixian was silent for a moment and bowed.
"Thank you, Li Jieshuai, for your kindness."
He made it very clear... Li Xia's attitude towards him was this. But Li Xia had no intention of helping him. If he did, it would be kindness.
Li Xia accepted it calmly and asked Lin Zi to fetch two horses.
"Brother Shanfu, please go early and come back early. There are many things waiting to be done in Guanzhong, and the affairs are complicated. You must let go of your scruples and show your talents."
…
Lian Xixian led his horse off the boat. Because of Li Xia's last sentence, he couldn't help but recall the Guanzhong policy that had been arranged recently, and those reforms that he had wanted to do but could not do for many years, and his heart felt hot.
This night has passed, and it is a new chapter for him...
~~
"Huh? Gone?"
"You will come back to me again."
"Do you have this confidence?"
"have."
When the boat was sailing towards the Yellow River, Li Xia wanted to go back to the cabin when he saw Zhang Wenjing coming out.
After finally meeting him, she didn't want to just go to bed like this, and wanted to talk more.
Li Xia took a cloak and put it on her, and the two sat on the deck looking east, waiting for the sunrise, and chatting casually.
"After today, I have truly taken Guanzhong. I have defeated Lian Xixian's counterattack plan. I will have to have him help me deal with Ahema and Shang Ting before I can do anything... At least, I can visit Chang'an City.
Already."
"If my fifth brother knew that Mr. Lian, who has such a high reputation, has also defected to you, I am afraid that even his jaw will drop."
"Normally, the situation is like the Yellow River. As it flows, hundreds of rivers will gradually flow into it. Of course, more and more people will join me in the future."
"Like Sister Yuan? If you didn't become popular, she wouldn't come to you just by exchanging a few poems with Mr. Yishan?"
"Smart, I have become a leader, and only the small things I have done in the past have meaning. And if I do the right things, people will gradually win over me in the future."
"But I'm not here for you. I just want to ask you...well...your letter of appointment before Chinese Valentine's Day last year..."
At the end of Zhang Wenjing's words, her voice gradually became lower.
Li Xia said: "Let me show you something first..."
He reached into his arms, took out a piece of colored paper, and handed it to her hand.
Zhang Wenjing glanced at the word "Lovesickness" on the paper, blushed and said, "I didn't write it."
"But I want to marry the talented woman who wrote this poem, but I'm afraid her family won't agree."
"Well...if her family has accepted your betrothal gift, they may regret the marriage again and just keep their word...I don't want to tell you."
"Wait a little longer and watch the sunrise over the Yellow River."
Zhang Wenjing was pretending to leave, but was gently pulled by Li Xia. When she turned around, she saw the sun rising red in the east, a river flowing, and the world widening.
"This situation reminds me of a Tang poem... The Yellow River has nine bends and thousands of miles of sand, and the waves and winds are blowing from the end of the world."
"What about the last two sentences?"
"I forgot the last two sentences."
"I don't believe that a talented woman will forget."
"She's not a very talented woman, but she can be considered a small one. If you want to ask for advice, I won't read the last two sentences to you."
Zhang Wenjing let Li Xia wrap her hand in his palm, thinking about the "waves and winds from the end of the world" along the way, and just continued to read the poem in her heart...
Now we go straight up the Milky Way to the home of the Morning Glory and the Weaver Girl.